Alleycat Asset Acquisitions
Ultimate Goal
Build open-source hardware that enables emergent play and immersive storytelling.
Skills Acquired
Technical Skills
- • CAD, PCB design (through-hole → SMD), firmware engineering
- • Iterative hardware prototyping and user testing
Leadership Skills
- • Event-driven project management with immovable deadlines
- • Team leadership, including lessons on the trickle-down effect of design decisions
- • Open-source community engagement and quality improvement through shared visibility
The above video showcases a device Fail Factory created for a cyberpunk LARPing eventin the Mohave desert known as Neotropolis.
Interactive 3D Model
Explore the interactive 3D model above to see detailed views of our engineering design.
Project Overview
Alleycat began with a wild idea: eight weeks before our first Neotropolis event, we decided to create a bounty-hunting experience instead of opening a karaoke bar. That decision birthed the Portable Data Node (PDN)— a handheld device that has now gone through four generations, growing from an analog "capture the flag" style device into a wireless, screen-equipped game platform.
Over the years, the PDN became not just a prop, but a platform: a way for players to duel, trade, and invent their own rules in the middle of a cyberpunk desert festival. Alleycat has been my laboratory for hardware design, team leadership, and the messy process of bringing open-source technology into the hands of hundreds of players.
Key Challenges
Starting with only eight weeks before the first event
Evolving from analog → digital → screen-based → wireless designs
Balancing yearly deadlines with increasingly complex builds
Surviving the "Year 3 Crisis": late boards, panicked assembly, and design flaws magnified at scale
Designing devices that could withstand player abuse and unpredictable use cases
Solutions & Innovations
Version 1
Analog device (44 units) → simple capture-the-flag mechanic
Version 2
First digital PDN using breakout boards (42–46 units) → introduced "Quick Draw"
Version 3
Complete redesign with screen and new form factor (65 units) → first SMD PCB design, but major deadline crunch
Version 4
Refined wireless version (150 units) → improved construction (28 fasteners → 15), streamlined production, and scaled manufacturing
Player Story
One hunter, Hot Lock, created his own "loot system": whenever he lost a duel, he'd let the winner loot a trinket from his "corpse," just like in a video game. The PDN enabled that emergent behavior— players weren't limited to what we prescribed, they built their own stories around the hardware.
Outcome & Results
Over four years, Alleycat grew from 44 handmade devices to 150 wireless units powering an entire festival game system. The PDN became a case study in iterative hardware, but also in community: by releasing the project open source, the work pushed me to a higher standard, invited collaboration, and embodied my belief that technology should be a playground.